


Midwinter Mission

by sarathechimera



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, Holidays, Post-Game(s), Post-War, dimileth, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarathechimera/pseuds/sarathechimera
Summary: Dimitri must depart on a mission just before the royal couple's Christmas Eve dinner. Tensions and suspicions run high in this holiday tale.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	Midwinter Mission

The sun had already disappeared over the horizon, blanketing the capital city in night. Snow continued to fall gently even without the sun setting each individual snowflake alight like a crystal and a moderate layer of snow waited the dark winter night to cake with ice. Dimitri, the King of this country, gathered his bag and checked the contents one final time before hefting it over his shoulder. He had a short window of time to make it out of the castle before he was discovered. 

As the master of the castle, he was well aware of the rounds of the servants and the movements of the guards and could time his departure accordingly. Moving as quietly as possible on soft soled boots, he crept along the wall of the corridor beyond his study and waited. In a moment, when the servants had passed beyond the door to the grand hall, he made his move. 

He’d chosen the soft leather boots not for their protection from the elements but for their muted footfalls. The floor was tiled and the ceilings vaulted and any sound would be sure to echo and bounce back. Flattening himself as best he could to the wall with his bag, Dimitri peeked around the corner and watched. After a moment, the guard at the side door stepped away to patrol the opposite of the grandhall. Now was his best chance. 

Knuckles white from gripping the strap of his bag to his shoulder, he set off at a strange loping run trying to be both quick and quiet, across the grand hall to the smaller door set beside the formal main doors. His hand closed on the latch, he was almost out. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

His heart leapt into his throat and his mind spun as he tried to think of some way out of this. He could simply open the door and run but that would raise suspicions. Instead, he laughed more loudly than he wanted to as he turned back toward the hall. There in the doorway to the dining hall stood his wife wrapped in holiday red with a sprig of green adjourning her hair. Her arms were across her chest and a curious light shone in her eyes. 

“I’m just stepping out for a few minutes. Nothing to worry about.” 

The corner of her mouth curled up and she narrowed her eyes. She was suspicious and she was moving toward her. “Our guests are due to arrive soon. What’s in the bag, Dimitri?” 

“Nothing!” he assured her. He hadn’t intended to shout that at her. 

“Doesn’t look like nothing. Looks like it’s full of, something.” 

He laughed and clapped his hand to the back of his head. “I’m just taking some things over to the orphanage. Some last minute gifts.” 

“Why don’t I come with you?” 

“NO!” She stopped in her tracks and looked at him like he had two heads. “I mean, you should stay here. It’s cold out and I’m already dressed. It will take no time at all and I’ll be back in time for dinner.” 

It was a horribly weak excuse but she bought it. At least, she pretended to buy it. Byleth’s eyebrow seemed stuck in a skeptical arch but she nodded her response. 

“Don’t take too long.” 

“I won’t!” he assured her and was out the door before she could give the exchange any further thought. 

Relief was short lived as the purpose for this winter-outing settled in his mind. Long hours of practice weren’t going to make this any easier. And now, he was under a time limit. Nothing like high stakes and a ticking clock. Dimitri estimated how long it would take him to get to the orphanage and back and realized that he’d short changed himself. If he was going to get there and back in time, he would have to run. Ducking his head into the blustery wind, he did just that. 

The darker it got, the more vacant the city streets became. The windows of shops and even taverns were empty as folks closed down for the holiday. He was grateful for the lack of a crowd milling about the city center, fewer people to recognize him would speed things up. That and long legs. 

Soon, he arrived at a side door just inside an alley next to a bakery. The bakery was closed but the resident living in the room above would be about. With a few anxious knocks, the door opened spilling light and warmth out into the cold night. 

“You got here faster than I expected!” Annette exclaimed. She took a step back and he slid through the door. 

“I’m so sorry about the inconvenience Annette but I am eternally grateful for your help.” 

Her laugh was short and merry as she ushered him up the stairs to the rooms she lived in. Modest but cozy, she’d cleared a space in the middle of the floor in front of a happily crackling fire. The rug was thickly woven and promised to keep someone warm in winter. But he was not here for a casual holiday visit. 

“I’m happy that I can help. Get set up here and I’ll be right back.” 

While Annette busied herself in the other room, Dimitri got to work removing the supplies from his bag. He carefully laid out the silver instruments in a neat row on the rug, inspecting each to make sure there had been no damage during his flight. The papers and cord were next and with as much care as shaking hands could muster, he laid them out beside the instruments. Then a simple wooden box with a latch joined the line of objects. He eyed the fireplace, wondering if it would provide enough light to see clearly by.

No. He was just making excuses. The light was sufficient for the task at hand. Finally, with great reverence he lifted something wrapped in layers of cloth and placed it gently in front of the fire. Using just his forefinger and thumb he pulled back the layers to reveal a small, thin black box swaddled within. 

A gasp from behind him made him jump and he nearly jerked the fabric. 

“Is that it?” Annette asked gravely. 

“Yes. I took a great risk bringing it here.”

Settling herself next to him with her legs folded beneath her, Annette looked from the box, to the tools and then to Dimitri’s face. The firelight lent an unearthly appearance to the grim set of his mouth. Placing her hand on his, Annette gave it a reassuring squeeze. When their eyes met, she gave him a thin but warm smile. 

“You’re ready for this. I’m just here to mend any injuries. You can do this.” Her free hand balled into a tiny fist which she shook with emphasis. 

“Yes. Right.” He stretched his fingers, splaying them out and then clenching them several times just like he had practiced. Though his voice in his ears did not sound as confident as he hoped.   
“I can do this.” 

With a shaky hand, he reached out and picked up one of the instruments and took a deep breath. This just had to work.

* * *

When he and Annette stepped into the castle’s receiving room, Byleth was waiting for them. Once the wind was silenced by the shutting of the door, she tilted her head to the side considering them. 

“I thought you were going to the orphanage?”

Dimitri froze in brushing the snow off of his shoulders but Annette was quick to pick up a response. 

“I ran into Dimitri coming in! That wind is just so strong tonight. I’d have blown right off the stairs if he hadn’t helped me up.” She clapped her hands together and proceeded as though nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. “Happy Christmas, Professor!” 

Dimitri shifted the bag on his shoulder, It was considerably lighter than before, and watched with a satisfied smile as they embraced. Byleth eyed him over Annette’s shoulder. 

“Happy Christmas, Annette. Everyone is waiting in the dining hall and I know they’ll be excited to see you.” 

The happy squeal that sprang out of her was the epitome of holiday cheer and without delay, Annette was shedding her coat and almost running toward the dining hall. Excited voices raised and carried through the hall, greeting her from within. 

“Everyone has been here for sometime,” she commented, watching him slyly as he too shed his coat, giving it to the care of the attendant. He was just stepping past her toward the dining hall when she added, “Mercedes arrived just as you left.” 

His shoulders rose to his ears as he went rigid. If Mercedes had been one of the first to arrive then who had been at the orphanage to receive him? 

“Where have you been, Dimitri?” 

The jig was up. He had no choice but to come clean now instead of waiting for a more opportune moment. Sucking a deep breath through his nose, he rolled his shoulders back and turned to face her. She had that vague sort of expression on her face that made it difficult to tell whether she was annoyed or amused. 

“Byleth,” he began, trying to work around the dryness in his throat. “I did not go to the orphanage. In fact, I had something urgent that I had to see to and I didn’t want to burden you with it.” 

Her mouth opened but he kept going. “Please. Just let me finish.” He shifted the bag at his shoulder so that he could reach inside of it. “I have always struggled with things like but I want to show you what I’ve done.” 

Byleth’s expression had taken on a definitive mask of confusion. He lowered his eyes from her face just long enough to take hold of the box in his bag. With one more very deep breath he removed it. Keeping his eyes lowered, he waited for some reaction or sound from her. He couldn’t bear to look. 

After a moment of excruciating silence, he had to look and upon raising his eyes he found her with her hands pressed to her mouth and eyes wide. Her gaze was fixed on the box, wrapped in crisp green paper that shone in the hall light and a bow sparkling red with delicate curled ribbons spilling from behind it. The tag, white at snow read clearly, “My Beloved.” There was no mistaking that it was for her. 

“Dimitri… I don’t…” 

Emboldened by her reaction, he took a step closer holding the box out to her. “I’m not good at delicate things, you know that. And I’ve never been able to wrap your gifts properly. This year, I wanted to do something that I’d never done before. Do you like it?” 

“Yes,” she said softly from behind her hands.

Her gaze lifted up from the box to his face. He could feel his cheeks begin to burn and a ridiculous broad smile on his lips. He took her hand from her mouth and placed the box in her palms. “Merry Christmas, my Beloved,” he said softly and bent to kiss her cheek. 

That dazzling smile that he loved so well graced her face as he straightened to look down at her. “Please, open it.” 

Blinking as though coming back to herself, she nodded and then began delicately tugging at the ribbon and bow. The wrapping fell away beautifully and beneath was a wooden box with a gold latch. “It’s beautiful, Dimitri…”

“No, no,” he said eagerly. “The gift is inside the box.” 

She opened the latch and looked inside. How curious that she didn’t make a sound? Again her eyebrows arched and she looked up to him. “Are you playing a trick on me?” 

His heart sank just like his face. “What do you mean?”

She tilted the box to show him. “There’s nothing inside.” 

It was then that he was transported back to Annette’s home, and the dimly lit room where he had meticulously wrapped the box. There, next to the shredded paper and broken scissors from his failed attempts that night would be the small, thin box housing the silver bracelet he’d had made for her. His head dropped. His shoulders slumped. He’d ruined everything. 

Then her hand was on his chin, lifting his face up and her smile filled his vision. The box was clutched to her chest as if it were the most precious object in all of Fodlan. “Dimitri, I love it. Even if it had just been a beautifully wrapped box, I would love it.” 

“But it was just a beautifully wrapped box,” he replied miserably. 

“Then I love it. And I love you. Merry Christmas, my beating heart.” She raised up on her tiptoes to kiss him and where he’d felt cold and knotted with anxiety, warmth spread through him like mead.

Then his arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her close to kiss her. “Merry Christmas, my beloved.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happiest holiday to all of you! I am thankful for you all and I hope that this lil story brings a smile to your face.


End file.
